*<see name="Temple at Chandaneswar" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" url="" hours="" price="" lat="" long="Near the mouth of the Rupnarayan River. One has go about 2&nbspkm across the sand to see the beach. Lot of red crabs are found in the estuary areas there.></see>

*<see name="Temple at Chandaneswar" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="" url="" hours="" price="" lat="" long="Near the mouth of the Rupnarayan River. One has go about 2&nbspkm across the sand to see the beach. Lot of red crabs are found in the estuary areas there.></see>

Revision as of 07:01, 25 May 2013

Contents

Understand

Digha is one of the most popular vacation destinations in West Bengal, particularly for people from Kolkata.

Get in

By bus

Digha is a 4-5 hr journey by bus from Kolkata.

There are regular and frequent services to Digha from the Bus Terminus (Route 6) in the Garia suburb of Kolkata. Buses run 04:00-08:30 and there is also an afternoon bus service from the same state transport depot. Service is regular and residents from Jadavpur, Tollygunj, Rajpur, Sonarpur can easily use the good service.

There are also frequent bus services to Digha from the Dharamtala bus stand of Kolkata and many other parts of West Bengal.

There is a bus service from Kudghat Bus Stand with two buses daily at 06:00 and 08.30. There is also service from Dumdum station. The bus leaves Dumdum at 07:00. 2 buses by CSTC from the bus stand near Ruby General Hospital start at 04:30 and 04:45 daily. There is a bus service from Barrackpore at 06:00 and 07.30. There are also frequent bus services from Howrah (suburb of Kolkata) with buses leaving almost the whole day every 30 min or so.

Its much pleasent journey by bus . It takes only 4 to 5 hours by bus from esplanade,kolkata and from other districts. there is always availablity of w.b.s.t.c bus or u can take any luxury bus.

By train

It is advisable to make reservations in advance for weekends and national holidays.

Three trains run daily from Howrah Railway Station at 06.40 (Tamralipta Express), 11.15 (Duranto Express) and 14.40 (Kandari Express) daily. Sometimes special trains are announced on special occasions and holidays. Notices for such trains are to be found on widely circulated newspapers. A journey by Duront Express (12847) leaving Howrah at 11.15 can be a great experience. The return times are 10.25, 13.35 and 18.20 respectively.

On Saturdays, The Paharia Express comes from new Jalpaiguri and halts at Howrah. This train is often quite empty and very comfortable to travel on.

There is a local train from Shalimar (Near Howrah) to Digha though the timing is not good. Also there may be some special trains.

Now due to work on the 2nd rail line work in the route howrah to digha all the trains getting late upto 4 to 5 hours. so always take your time. and choose ur path of tour.

By road

Travelling to Digha by road has become easier, promoting tourism in Digha and the surrounding beaches of Mandarmoni, Tajpur and Sankarpur). The roads are excellent and one can easily reach Digha from Kolkata in 4 hr of sedate driving.

Route: NH-6 till Kolaghat -> take a left turn on NH-41 excellent roads till Nandkumar -> right turn on state highway all the way to Digha, via towns of Contai and Ramnagar.

Get around

Amravati Park is in New Digha. Motorcycle rickshaw vans will take you to New Digha from Old Digha for around ₹5 per person.

See

New Digha Beach

Talsari Beach. good

Temple at Chandaneswar. (,Near the mouth of the Rupnarayan River. One has go about 2&nbspkm across the sand to see the beach. Lot of red crabs are found in the estuary areas there.)

Marine Station/Aquarium of Zoological Survey of India. M-Sa 09:30-18:00. This is possibly the most well equipped marine aquarium in India, but the collection of specimens is poor. Some common local fish are kept in this huge aquarium.₹550.

Do

Swimming. The best place for a dip safely is at New Digha. The beach here is flat. Nowadays old Digha is not safe and conducive for bathing. Beer is generally served at the beach by the enterprising locals who would accept payment later by coming with you to your hotel. Warning: They may ask a high price for beer

Sunbathing.

Volleyball. You can also play cricket or football on the beach

Horse riding.

Buy

Ornaments and curios made of sea shells

Hand woven mats made of weeds. These mats are calledMadur in Bengali and the colourful Madurs of Midnapur District are famous.

Cashew nuts. There is a cashew nut farm in Digha so cashew nuts are cheaper here than other places in West Bengal.

Shankha.shankh and sankha, is a conch shell,The shankha is praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame, longevity and prosperity, the cleanser of sin and the abode of Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth and consort of Vishnu. A large number of shops are selling best qualities shankha near chandeneswar temple.Bargain required. It is 3 kilometer from digha Boarder.Same duplicate & low quality shankha are available at digha sea beach.

Eat

There are many cheap "rice hotels" all over Digha, serving cheap, but good quality Bengali dishes. There are some more expensive restaurants where continental food is available. In an average restaurant, a vegetarian meal is available for ₹35-45, Bengali fish curry-rice is available for ₹25-35. A meal with egg curry-rice is available around ₹45.

Another great idea would be to just buy the staple vegetarian fare at the hotel you are staying and have it delivered to your room. You can buy fresh fishes like ilish, pomfret, parshe and prawns from Mohona, Digha fish market in the morning and have it cooked at the numerous "Dada-Boudi'r" joints around Sea Hawk. Have this fish with your standard vegetarian lunch or dinner.

In the evening look for fried fish on the sea front in Digha.

Those who are fussy about the quality of cooking, have transport at their command and are looking for tasty fish preparations should go and have lunch at Shankarpur, some 14 km away - they prepare the fish much better than at Digha. The quality at Shankarpur is comparable to the Kolkata 5 star but is comparatively cheaper and the fish as fresh as you can demand. The trouble of travelling would be well compensated.

Hotel Sea Hawk. One of the few places in town that doesn't hike up their prices as demand increases. Food is good and room services standard. From ₹400 for a ground-floor sea-facing double up to ₹1,500 for an A/C double bed.

Stay safe

Mosquito repellent, This is a must for visitors.

Digha Sea Wall

Electric torches or emergency lamps, They will help in case of temporary power outages which are frequent during the summer.

Safety at Sea. The sea becomes rough to very rough during high tide, especially during new and full moon. It is not safe to swim during high tide. There is a sea wall, which protects Old Digha from erosion, it is unsafe to cross the wall during high tide. Most of Digha has No Swim signs.

NO ATM. Carry cash always. as there is no atm in new digha and maximum ATMs are out of order many times at Old Digha

Get out

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!